


Spots of Light

by All_My_Characters_Are_Dead



Series: Mages and Familiars [7]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, The Familiars AU no one asked for, Tsukki is a light mage, Yamaguchi is a magical deer, but I wrote it anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-28
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-16 19:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5837992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/All_My_Characters_Are_Dead/pseuds/All_My_Characters_Are_Dead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsukishima's practice is interrupted by a group of men hunting rare spotted stag. </p><p>Or: The Story of How Tsukishima Got the Familiar He Didn't Really Want</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spots of Light

Tsukishima wasn't sure why he bothered coming out to this forest clearing with the single tree in the center to practice anymore, but he did enjoy the quiet. His Guildmaster had told him over and over that if he didn't put some effort into his magic, he would never be powerful enough to rise through the ranks. But Tsukishima didn't really see the point. Why should he put effort into something that was never going to be a strong, useful skill anyway? He could control his magic, and in his opinion, that was all he needed. He hadn't even bothered trying to summon a familiar to help amplify his magic, because what purpose would a demon or nature spirit or whatever other poor creatures could be contracted as familiars have?

Shouts and flickering torchlight from deeper in the forest caught his attention for a moment. He considered moving, but decided against it. He leaned back against a rough tree trunk and flicked his fingers, soft orbs of light appearing and dancing before him. With a thought and another flick of his fingers, he set the orbs in motion, maneuvering them until they lined the edge of the clearing around Tsukishima's tree. That should be enough to warn whoever was making noise that there was a mage in the area, and keep them from bothering him too much.

The torchlight grew closer, the shouts louder. A hound howled. Tsukishima scowled, and stood. Apparently they hadn't gotten the hint. Tsukishima lifted his hands, holding them palms up, and formed larger orbs of light. He was about to send them floating toward the people disturbing the quiet night, but before he could, a deer with short, almost delicate antlers and an unusual spotted hide burst into the clearing. Instead of turning away from the light, the animal bounded toward it, only halting when it reached the tree Tsukishima was standing beside. There, the animal paused, staring at the mage with wide, shining eyes. A moment later, a small group of humans charged into the clearing, some carrying torches and others carrying weapons. They froze when they saw Tsukishima and his orbs of light still hovering over his palms.

"We didn't realize this was a Guild's territory," one of the men blurted out, his eyes wide as he took in the mage, who was watching them with narrowed eyes.

"It isn't," Tsukishima said flatly. "But that doesn't mean you should just bumble around like idiots, disturbing other people."

"We didn't mean to! We're just hunting that spotted dear!" another man spoke up. Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. He thought it was fairly obvious that was what they were doing, and honestly, he didn't care. What he did care about was that he didn't like people barging in on his practices...even if he was sulking and not really practicing.

"How lame. He's such a scrawny stag, and there are, what? Eight of you? And you still couldn't catch him?" Tsukishima let out a derisive snort, noting the way the men bristled. "You're after the medicinal powers of the spotted hide, right? Idiots like you would be better off just begging the local Guild for whatever you need medicine for." Several of them looked like they wanted to protest, offended by the mage's words, but the first one who had spoken stopped them.

"We're sorry for disturbing you," the first man said quickly, glaring at his companions. "We'll take your advice and visit a Guild to ask for help." The men left, their apparent leader ushering them out of the clearing. As they vanished into the darkness beyond the light of Tsukishima's light orbs, the mage heard the leader hiss something about not making mages angry. Tsukishima sighed and flicked his wrists, making the orbs in his palms vanish, then glanced at the stag who was still standing nearby, watching him.

"What are you looking at? You interrupted my practice, too," Tsukishima snapped. The animal stepped toward him, eyes glittering with intelligence. It skipped back a few steps when Tsukishima glared at it, then hesitantly approached again. Realizing that he wouldn't get his peaceful solitude back until he figured out what the animal wanted - unless he spooked the stag into running away, which was an appealing option now that he thought of it - Tsukishima held out a hand.

 _You saved me._ The words flowed into Tsukishima's mind, a faint, shy whisper that told him this animal was fully aware it had been hunted. Animals with magical properties who could also communicate with mages weren't unheard of, but Tsukishima had never encountered one that wasn't someone's familiar.

"I didn't do it for you," he informed the deer.

 _I know. But I still want to thank you._ Tsukishima knew where this was going, and he decided to cut the animal off before it made its offer.

"I don't want a familiar," he said flatly. "I don't need one, either. I can control my magic just fine, and I don't need protection."

 _I still want to repay you. Those hunters will come back here, looking for me. Or others will come,_ the animal pointed out. Tsukishima frowned, but had to admit that the stag had a point. Tsukishima would have to find a different place to do his not-practice, or he would have to do something that would keep the hunters away. He could kill the deer himself, but that would be messy, and he didn't need the hide. He could get another mage to relocate the animal. Or...he could accept the deer's offer and make him a familiar. _I promise not to interrupt you, or cause any trouble,_ the stag told him earnestly. Tsukishima met the animal's bright, intelligent gaze, and saw something akin to adoration there. The mage sighed. Maybe his Guildmaster would stop nagging quite so much if Tsukishima took a familiar.

"All right. I'll form a contract with you," Tsukishima agreed. He focused his magic, power pooling in his palm, and then rested his hand on the deer's shoulder. "Do you have a name to share?" he asked formally. 

_I am Yamaguchi, the spotted stag,_ came the reply.

"I, Tsukishima Kei, choose the spotted stag Yamaguchi as my familiar," the mage announced, the magic in his palm flaring and mingling with the stag's own innate magic, the energy of a living creature.

 _I will stay by your side, to guide and protect you, for as long as I live,_ the animal - Yamaguchi - pledged.

"Then as a symbol of our bond, I name you Tadashi," Tsukishima said. The magic flared even more, a glow enveloping the two. When it faded, Tsukishima felt like his head was a little heavy, and he shook it a few times, getting used to the weight of the magical bond now connecting the two. He realized he'd closed his eyes against the glow, and opened them to find a thin human boy about the same age as Tsukishima standing before him, wearing a spotted deerskin robe, his cheeks and nose awash in freckles.

"So, Master-"

"Don't call me that," Tsukishima snapped. He knew it was common for familiars to refer to their mages as their masters, but the idea of this boy following him around and calling him 'Master' made Tsukishima uncomfortable.

"Okay. I'll call you Tsukki, then!" Yamaguchi decided. Tsukishima's eyebrow twitched, but he didn't protest. It was better than being called 'Master'.

"Just shut up, Yamaguchi," Tsukishima grumbled. The boy who had been a mere stag a moment ago grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, Tsukki," he replied. Tsukishima shook his head. He wondered how his Guild would react to this development. He really hoped none of them started calling him 'Tsukki just because he now had a familiar who called him that. Which reminded him...

"Don't tell anyone the name I gave you, okay? That has to stay between us, or someone might try to use it against you," Tsukishima told his new familiar. Yamaguchi tilted his head, his dark eyes eerily close to the way they had looked when he was a stag. "If someone knows that name - it's called a contract name, by the way - they can disrupt, manipulate, or sever our bond if they have the right skills."

"I understand, Tsukki. I won't tell anyone," the familiar assured him. "But..could you use it? When it's just us?" Yamaguchi looked up at him with those wide, bright eyes, and Tsukishima found himself giving in.

"All right. But I'll only use it when I'm positive we're alone," he agreed. "Okay...Tadashi?" The familiar beamed, the light of Tsukishima's remaining light orbs reflecting in his eyes and highlighting the freckles sprinkled over his face.


End file.
